0000000000653864
AUTHOR
Tihana Tršan
The viral chemokine MCK-2 of murine cytomegalovirus promotes infection as part of a gH/gL/MCK-2 complex.
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) forms two gH/gL glycoprotein complexes, gH/gL/gO and gH/gL/pUL(128,130,131A), which determine the tropism, the entry pathways and the mode of spread of the virus. For murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), which serves as a model for HCMV, a gH/gL/gO complex functionally homologous to the HCMV gH/gL/gO complex has been described. Knock-out of MCMV gO does impair, but not abolish, virus spread indicating that also MCMV might form an alternative gH/gL complex. Here, we show that the MCMV CC chemokine MCK-2 forms a complex with the glycoprotein gH, a complex which is incorporated into the virion. We could additionally show that mutants lacking both, gO and MCK-2 are not ab…
Superior induction and maintenance of protective CD8 T cells in mice infected with mouse cytomegalovirus vector expressing RAE-1γ.
Due to a unique pattern of CD8 T-cell response induced by cytomegaloviruses (CMVs), live attenuated CMVs are attractive candidates for vaccine vectors for a number of clinically relevant infections and tumors. NKG2D is one of the most important activating NK cell receptors that plays a role in costimulation of CD8 T cells. Here we demonstrate that the expression of CD8 T-cell epitope of Listeria monocytogenes by a recombinant mouse CMV (MCMV) expressing the NKG2D ligand retinoic acid early-inducible protein 1-gamma (RAE-1γ) dramatically enhanced the effectiveness and longevity of epitope-specific CD8 T-cell response and conferred protection against a subsequent challenge infection with List…
Cytomegalovirus vector expressing RAE-1γ induces enhanced anti-tumor capacity of murine CD8+ T cells
Designing of CD8 T cell vaccines which would provide protection against tumors is still considered a great challenge in immunotherapy. Here we show a robust potential of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) vector expressing the NKG2D ligand RAE-1γ as CD8 T cell-based vaccine against malignant tumors. Immunization with the CMV vector expressing RAE-1γ delayed tumor growth or even provided complete protection against tumor challenge in both prophylactic and therapeutic settings. Moreover, a potent tumor control in mice vaccinated with this vector can be further enhanced by blocking the immune checkpoints TIGIT and PD-1. Expression of RAE-1γ by the CMV vector potentiated expansion of KLRG1+ CD8 T cells wi…